Hokkaido: Day 4 - 2009/01/10

If day 3 is a day of skiing, then day 4 is a day of walking... in the zoo.

And damn it... it's a walk in the breezing cold... so cold, it chilled up my spine.

After breakfast, we checked out from our hotel to begin the day's journey. The whole morning was spent riding the bus which only stopped for toilet breaks.

Our first destination for the day was for lunch in a place called Asahikawa Ramen Village, a food court area with only ramen served, from a few ramen shops to choose from.
The food looks good, but it isn't as good as it seems. A little too salty, among others.With the whole day skiing the day before, everyone was really really tired. Even after a 'refreshing' meal, we were all still very tired. So, the only thing we did was... ZZZzzzThen, finally, we reached our destination. Zoo Asahiyama.The main attraction that day, the penguin walk...but frankly... there wasn't anything special in the zoo, and the time could have been better spent elsewhere. And the penguin walk was just a group of penguins walking past you and it all ended in a matter of minutes. And we were made to wait for almost 30 minutes just to see it.

The best part of the day was actually in the hotel we stayed in, Hotel Taisetsu, somewhere at the highest area in Sounkyo.

The details:
Sounkyo, Kamikawacho
Kamikawa-gun
Hokkaido
078-1701

Known as Ryokan (traditonal Japanese inn), this is one of the most famous hotel for the natural onsen (hot spring).

Being a ryokan, we slept on a tatami the traditional Japanese way.The table had to be rearranged before we could lay the mattresses.

The group photo after the traditional Japanese dinner. There were certain rules on wearing the kimono (left side outside) and how we have to lay our slippers (pointing outwards) before entering the dining room.

And of course who could actually miss the famous onsen. There are in fact, 3 onsen to choose from, and I went for the one located outdoor. It's said to be the most beautiful of all. As we were not allowed to bring cameras in, I got this photo from some website. This was the exact one I went to. It was so warm under the water, yet freezing cold above. My boss' hair got frozen ice from the falling snow as he was sitting on the outside of the pool. Yeah... crazy us.

The most satisfying activity was during the dinner. I managed to taste sake (warm and cold) and shochu for the first time and was actually warned that mixing the 2 brings a lasting painful after-effects. So I had to drink sparingly.

And if drinking over dinner wasn't enough, my ED bought a few more bottles to be completed in his room and I was the few that was invited along (but the few grew)... hahaha... more drinking... over some of the best Japanese snacks.